


During the Rain

by KingoftheUzbeks



Category: Amphibia (Cartoon)
Genre: After the Rain, Angst, Betrayal, Cave, Crying, During the episode, Episode: s02e13b After the Rain, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Isolation, Sadness, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Self-Loathing, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 21:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30145977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingoftheUzbeks/pseuds/KingoftheUzbeks
Summary: Having fled Hop Pop’s betrayal, Anne returns to her cave and is left along with herself, and her thoughts.TW: Suicidal Ideation.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	During the Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Like many fans, parts of After the Rain were a bit of a letdown for me. I thought Anne in particular didn’t get enough focus. So I wrote this. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: Anne briefly considers suicide in this story. She quickly dismisses the idea, but it that will be a problem, please be aware.

Anne hadn’t been to the cave in months. Not since she’d met Sprig ad when Ho….she’d found a better place to stay. She’d swung by after the Mantis attack to grab her backpack that held all her stuff, but since then, nope no desire to go back to the damp, buggy, cave in the death woods. 

As she ducked into the cave, Anne dimly realized that her backpack zipper had come open and she’d dropped some stuff as she ran. Like her magazines. She should turn around and…. 

Why bother? 

She’d never see any of the shows again, or be able to enter any of the contests. She’d never get another issue, find out which movie star was dating which washed up musician. It was hitting her like a truck. 

Shit. She’d never see another truck. She didn’t even care about trucks, but now she was never going to see one again. The box was the only way home, and Hop Pop had stolen it and sent it goodness knows where. How could he?

Anne curled herself up into a little ball, not caring about the damp moss on her back or the centipede getting dangerously close to her hair. She was going to die here. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday. She was going to die in this stupid frog world filled with stupid frog people. She was never going to see her parents again. 

Suddenly she started tearing through her backpack, looking for it. She hadn’t dropped it had she? She couldn’t have dropped it! That would have been even more terrible, and...there it was. Still pretty and sparkly and blue, and surprisingly not all that bent up, despite having lived in her backpack. The butterfly. 

Her parents. Her parents probably already thought she was dead. But now she’d really never see them again. They hadn’t been bad, like at all really. Her mom making her take Muay Thai lessons had probably saved her life a few times. And her dad’s dumb camping trips meant she at least hadn’t died of exposure. Maybe if she’d been better, she would never have stolen the box. Never would have wound up in Amphibia. It hadn’t been bad back home. She hadn’t really had to worry about anything. Sure, there was popularity and grades and making Tennis Captain, but she hadn’t had to worry about her life or taxes or anything like that. 

That was what had made Hop Pop so nice. 

Polly and Sprig were lots of fun, but half the time she had to keep them out of danger. And like, Sprig was nice but “makes her feel safe” was never exactly his top skill. Hop Pop though. Hop Pop made sure she had food. Hop Pop made sure she had a bed and a place to sleep. She still had to worry about monsters or what not, but she’d never had to worry about like, adult stuff. Hop Pop had even put in his good word behind her, which had really helped with the townies. 

But it had all been a lie. 

He’d lied to her he’d stolen the box. The one hope she had of getting home. He’d lied and he’d stolen it and sent it somewhere. Maybe he’d really lost it. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore. She’d slept in his house and he’d been busy making sure she never got home. Never would sleep in her bed, or hug Mr. Squirrelface again. Never hear her mom sing badly or smell her dad’s cooking. Because Hopideah Plantar was a fraud and bad guy. 

He’d risked her life, and Polly’s life, and Sprig’s life by taking them to Newtopia. Even though he’d already stolen the box. Led them on a wild goose chase. Lied to the King, lied to Marcy. 

Oh shit Marcy. 

She was going to be in town soon, ready to bring the Music Box to the temples and find a way home. Oh shit when she ran out. What felt like a sharp jab hit Anne right in the heart. When Marcy found out. Poor Marcy, she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Amphibia seemed so fun to her. But the weight of being trapped here, trapped in this hell of frogs and toads and newts, it was crushing her. It was squeaking the part of her that felt happiness away, and it seemed like it would never come back. She was downing. 

Marcy would never be able to handle it. 

Yes Marcy had wound up stronger in Amphibia, but Anne could just see her face break when she heard the news. Marcy would crumple like a wet paper towel. She’d turn white and just...stop. Like Anne was. Anne could only vaguely feel her limbs. Marcy would just fade. 

Anne couldn’t bear the thought of that. She’d been kinda serious about going to Loggle after she cooled down. But no, that would mean seeing Marcy. And telling Marcy that she’d never see Legends of Vagabondia 2 ever. And Anne couldn’t do that. She just couldn’t. 

Maybe she should just end it now, get it over with. Walk out of the cave and find some nice cliff. Or maybe some big monster would do her in. Quick and easy. 

Anne didn’t move. 

No, no. That would hurt Marcy just as much, showing up and finding her friend dead. And it would be giving Hop Pop the satisfaction of knowing whatever his plan was had worked. Unless his plan had been to work her on the farm until she keeled over. But then that had already failed. Besides, Anne didn’t want to die here. That was what made it so bad that she was going to die here. 

Why!

Hop Pop was supposed to be nice and kind and grandfatherly. Yes he was a little crotchety and hostile. But in a charming foil to youtherful energy kinda way, not strand a girl in another dimension way. Oh sure he claimed he had a reason, claimed he couldn’t take the lying anymore, but that was just another lie. He’d lied early and he’d lied often. It was like Sasha. 

Sasha. 

They’d helped her improve. Break out from under Sasha’s thumb. Realize what independence and actual friendship meant. Stop being so easily tricked into doing things. But this. Sasha had never done anything like this. Keeping her from getting home, trapping her somewhere she didn’t want to be. It was like some sick joke. Maybe she was the problem. Maybe Anne was just so dumb and so stupid that she was an easy mark. Maybe she was just so bad only bad people ever wanted to come near her. Maybe it was a bit of both. 

Was this kind of punishment for stealing the box? Or abandoning her parents to hang out with Sasha. 

Anne leaned over to the side pondering the question. The dirt smudged on her face. Stupid dirt. Stupid world. She just wanted to get home. See her parents. Go to class. Dissect a frog that didn’t talk. Sleep in her own bed. Be safe. 

But now she never would.

**Author's Note:**

> ....although of course the rest of After the Rain still happens. So, you know, she still has a shot. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, feedback is always welcome. You can also read my other Amphibia work,”From the Journal of Marcy Wu” if you would like more of my content.


End file.
